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The Family of Victor Simon
Real Names: George, Lena, and Emma Simon, other names unknown Case: '''Lost Family '''Date: September 1921 Location: Alliance, Ohio Case Details: Victor Simon grew up in Dillonvale, Ohio, during the Great Depression under the name Frank, given to him by his adoptive parents. They abused and neglected him. When he was nine, he was told that his birth parents had abandoned him, which left him depressed for years. His adoptive parents also eventually did so, so he was placed in several foster homes throughout the years. When he was in high school, he continued to suffer from depression; as a result, he did poorly in class. Then, he learned from a social worker that his real name was Victor Shiman and was promised that if he applied himself and stayed in school, his birth parents would be at his graduation. This news inspired him to become a more focused student and pass all his classes. However, when his graduation came, his parents never showed up. Victor wrote to several agencies and tried for several years to find his birth family, but he was unsuccessful and eventually gave up. He then got married and had five children, but never forgot his long lost family. Finally, decades later in 1984, he heard about an organization called "Reunite" that helped reunite families. He decided to contact them and restart his search for his birth family. An amateur genealogist named Rose Murphy heard his story and decided to try and find his birth family. After looking through old county records, she soon found that his last name was actually "Simon" instead of "Shiman" which is what made his search so much more difficult before. Rose found an obituary page for Victor's mother and found that he was from a Hungarian immigrant family and that he had been given up for adoption as a baby in September 1921. His mother Lenna Schmon, 37, died hours after giving birth to him. His father, Dan, 42, was confined to a wheelchair at the time due to a railroad injury that occurred just hours before his birth. Since he already had several older living siblings, including a brother, George, and two sisters, Lenna and Emma, Dan was forced to give him up to foster care. Rose believes that Dan later went back to the foster care and asked to have Victor returned to him, but was not because his name was placed as "Victor Shiman" in the records instead. He is glad now that he knows that his birth parents did not abandon him, but he still wants to find any of his relatives and be reunited with them. Extra Notes: This case first aired on the January 23, 1991 episode. Results: Solved. Records indicate that Victor's brother, George, passed away in 1967 and his sister, Emma, in 1987. However, according to his grandson, he was able to locate a distant cousin in Arizona and speak with them over the phone. He also learned that he had several other relatives in Romania. With Rose's help, Unsolved Mysteries, and other organizations, his relatives were confirmed with 97% certainty. Sadly, Victor died on May 16, 1995, without ever meeting those relatives. He was seventy-three. However, according to his grandson, he felt that he practically met his goal because he was able to find "the people that he belonged to". His grandson hopes to go to Romania and meet with the long-lost relatives. Links: * Victor Simon Actor Article * "Lost For Life" * Victor Simon Death Record * Victor Simon Obituary * SitcomsOnline Discussion of Victor's case * Lenna Schmon on Find a Grave * Victor Simon on Find a Grave ---- Category:Ohio Category:1921 Category:Lost Loves Category:Solved Category:Adoption Cases Category:Railroad-Related Cases